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  1. #1
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    FunkyWalker's System

    Hello everyone, as I stated on the introduction page many months ago I have been building an aquaponics system with a team of fellow electrical and computer science engineers. The original goal of this project was to create a system that could be controlled and monitored via internet or smartphone app. So because of the control we needed a lot of electronic parts vs the mechanical ones most of you use.



    So getting to it let me explain what we got.

    Approximately 300 gal fish tank


    (2) 4’ by 3’ Grow Beds


    I used a little trap because I was fearful of getting a small stone in the electronic drain valve.


    To control the water flow I have a small 12V DC sump pump with the fill and drain all controlled with electric ball valves. Water level is monitored by a electro-mechanical float switch.
    All this is controlled with a Arduino, relays and H-bridges.


    Due to time constraints we had to abandon the phone app and couldn’t get it attached to the internet so we fell on using a touch screen LCD.




    Over the next few days I'll go into the problems that I ran into and some of them that I solved and some that are still problematic.

  2. #2
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    Edmonton, Canada
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    Interesting! Looking forward to future posts
    Jason M.

  3. #3
    Moderator Jason's Avatar
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    Very nice setup. It sounds like your team had their hands full. Will you continue to try to get the phone app working or was it written out of the plans completely? Maybe a future addition? Are you willing to provide the steps for other members to set up the display like your setup.

    Jason

  4. #4
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    I would be happy to share any information on the system that we built. This also goes for programs but I will throughout a disclaimer that I had very little work on that side. We had a very talented programmer named Chris that did it all. I just let him know where there were problems or idea changes. So as for the phone app that will not be perused in the future. One day I might consider making the web based hosting but no plans right now.

    This is because I’m still having trouble keeping the basics working as they should. It’s been frustrating, like today, and all I want to do is rip all the electronics out and go mechanical. The two big problems that I keep facing are component failure and the water level sensors not triggering as they should. These sensors tell the pump to turn off… When this happens….


    After this first, 4 month ago, incident I moved the pump so if this were to happen again it would only pump out half the water. It happened again a few days ago. The problem with these incidents is that I wasn’t there so I don’t exactly know what happened. It’s really hard to always know the problem because it works under testing… sometimes.

    Being in SW Florida I have a lot of humidity and that doesn’t fair well for the electronics. Aside from the pump I’ve replaced everything at least once so far. Some were my fault and others were because the hobbyist electronics we chose just didn’t hold up to the environment.

    For the time being I plan to install a bell syphon as a backup and as something to keep the system running in case I need to work on the electronics. When they fail it usually takes a day or two to get it up and going again.

    This is the final video we used.

  5. #5
    Moderator Jason's Avatar
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    The bell syphon as a backup is a great idea and would be easy enough to plug when the pumps were working. While I really like the idea of the displays and collection of the data, I know that is just the geek in me. Sometime it is just best to go by the K.I.S.S. principle. The fancier things are the easier they breakdown. That said, any chance you have a list of the schematics for the system and part list?

    Jason

  6. #6
    Members Apollo's Avatar
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    So what is the " K.I.S.S. principle"?

  7. #7
    Moderator Jason's Avatar
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    Sorry, I always had it drilled into me when I was young that I forget it might be be a common phrase. KISS is an acronym for "Keep it simple, stupid". Depending where you read about it, it was a design principle noted by the U.S. Navy in 1960, or by an engineer for the Lockheed Skunk Works, Lockheed Martin's advanced aircraft development program. It can also stand for "keep it short and simple" and "keep it simple and straighforward". Basically it just means that simple is a better way to go, as sometime we like to make complex systems when a simple system would do and be easier to maintain. Thanks for asking.

    Jason

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